Judicial Nominations

I am very concerned over many of the recent decisions (what decisions? Let’s find at least three – briefly explain and link to the court’s decision.) handed down by our courts.

Federal judges, who are appointed for life, are on the bench to apply the original intent of the Constitution, not re-write existing laws according to their own interpretations as so many judges on the bench engage in. A judge is entrusted to uphold integrity and the independence of the judiciary, and rulings should be made without prejudice, on the basis of unbiased constitutional jurisprudence. However, our process for confirming judges does not appear to be functioning as our founding fathers intended. As you may know, under Article III of the Constitution, the President of the United States, with the consent of the Senate, appoints justices of the Supreme Court, judges of the courts of appeals and the district courts and the judges of the Court of International Trade.

Much to my disappointment, many of President Bush’s most qualified jurists were filibustered by liberal Democrats in the Senate and were not allowed a straight up or down vote on their nomination by the full Senate. It is also extremely troubling to me that many of President Obama’s judicial nominees exhibit a “legislating” mentality from their past. I believe that his two selections to the U.S. Supreme Court will become a detriment to our Constitution in their attempts to interpret cases through their liberal views.

I can assure you that as a Member of the House of Representatives I will labor within the framework of the Constitution to make certain judicial nominees are scrutinized and evaluated to ensure their impartiality and diligence for applying the Constitution; not re-writing laws according to their own political views. I have always reached over to my colleagues in the Senate, making sure that they have a further understanding of the Constitutional implications of their judicial nominating selections. I consider this a responsibility of the utmost importance.